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Let’s remember something
Happy Monday to you! I know it was a very tough weekend for us AWFC fans but I wake up everyday feeling happy that this is the club that I support and moreover, that these are the players that we get to see every weekend.
The season is almost over and I am looking forward to NOT waking up at 3:30am but that’s about it. Not looking forward to endless weeks of not watching this squad ball and ball and ball.
We have a team of elite trailblazers who are the most professional footballers we could ever hope for and what I am indeed looking forward to is the next match and I can’t wait to see how we bounce back after a terrible day out.
There’s a lot of negativity and criticism going around at the moment for many reasons. Yesterday I tweeted some things that were getting a lot of traction and decided to delete it because I just didn’t feel it added anything positive to the discourse, even though I was defending Viv and criticizing the manager.
I am here to remind you though, that thinking that a manager isn’t right for the club makes you just a big of a fan of the club than those who support them unconditionally. I’m not saying people who abuse the manager are cool, no, not at all. I’m saying that there is this absurd notion that some fans have that standing by the manager makes you a bigger or more loyal fan.
That’s like saying that as a citizen of a country you’re a better one for not critiquing or not protesting against your government. That’s not how it works and there are fewer things more important as a citizen than speaking up against things the government does.
I will talk about this and other things in today’s podcast which I will start recording in about an hour or so, which will also include a LOT about Viv, Eidevall, the summer and more.
Keep your heads up, because that’s what the girls are gonna do and that’s what they need from us as well. And to add to this picture, voicing your opinion, literally, is easier with your head up. Think about that.
d ❤
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No manager is bigger than the club
I love this club, I love these players and I love being a fan of the WSL and because I am all of those things I have to say that the poor decisions by the manager are very detrimental to the players and the league as a whole. Honestly, what was that??
First off: the positives…
Kim Little is always a joy to watch. Leah was solid as usual and overall I absolutely love how the defense looked up until she was subbed off and even afterwards, it wasn’t as hectic as it usually feels.
Emily was energetic as ever.
Russo was at the right place, at the right time. Lovely.
But…
You cannot miss 2 sitters, at least, and expect to win but these things happen.
I have no issues with the players.
It’s not like the girls didn’t try. Their effort and attitude is undeniable.
Mathematically we can still finish second and as usual I will always keep my hopes up until its mathematically impossible.
Also, the “good news” is that hopefully there will be a lot of squad rotation
My issue is and will continue to be with the manager.
How the FUCK do you attempt to bring on Viv around the 98th minute when the ref gave 7 min of added time?
I just can’t believe this.
He’s doing to Viv what he did to Mana and she doesn’t deserve that.
We hear all the time that no one player is bigger than the club right? Well more importantly:
No manager is bigger than the club.
This is not sustainable.
d ❤
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You can listen to my music HEREAlessia Russo, arsenal, arsenal blog, Arsenal Football Club, arsenal podcast, arsenal women, arsenal women blog, Arsenal Women FC, arsenal women football club, Arsenal women podcast, AWFC, AWFC podcast, beth mead, blogs about arsenal women, Cloe Lacasse, Emily Fox, FIFA WWC, Frida Manuum, Katie mccabe, Kim little, Laia Codina, lia walti, manu zinsberger, Stina Blackstenius, that arsenal women podcast, UWCL, Vivianne Miedema, women’s football podcast, woso, Woso podcast, WSL podcast -
No Hempo
Ugh… I was sooooooo hoping that we would sign Lauren Hemp and bring to Arsenal that insane dynamic that Beth and Lauren have with the Lioness but alas, its not meant to be for who knows how long, if not ever, but hey, the dream was lovely while it lasted… as in it lasted several seasons and we never got her. Talk about an opportunity missed… absolutely insane.
I actually kept my word and I didn’t watch Jonas’s press conference and haven’t looked up at any news regarding players and I also don’t think I should be a source of news overall because I have zero credibility BUT what I do know is that regardless of injuries, a similar XI as last week is imperative.
Hope is not something I ever lose. If the math maths, then my hope hopes. All this to say that we need to keep the pressure on Chelsea because we can still finish above them. It might not seem likely but we can still do it, if and only if we win all of our matches.
The thing with depending on other people is that, aside from the obvious thing of things being out of our control, is that there are so many things out of our control and not just one. Not sure if that makes any sense…
If Chelsea lose today, they might be hyper focused on the WSL and there’s little probability that they lose. If they win today they are probably even more focused on the WSL. Bottom line is that they are all professional and letting the foot of the gas is never a thing. They will want to win and focus on every single match and every single competition. Win or lose. Always.
Off to watch the match on DAZN and in a few hours maybe one of the things I mentioned on the paragraph above will start making sense. Probably not.
d ❤
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The match is NOT Saturday
Don’t you love it when you plan your whole day around a match only to realize that you got your days totally confused and the chaos you have brought upon yourself is equal parts tragic as it is comical? That’s me right now and I honestly can’t complain because it might end up working for me in the end.
This weekend is gonna be insane, and glad that the matches I want to watch will be split between the two days, starting with the CL semi return leg, and as much as I think Chelsea have everything going for them, I just can’t see Barca playing 2 terrible matches in a row, but if that’s the case, so be it and I’ll be the first one to give flowers to Emma and that squad, who have killed it without their 2 best players. THAT’S INSANE.
Jen Beattie’s Bay FC plays at 7pm my time and I really hope she starts because it’s just pissing me off at this point, specially when she can definitely add experience and talent and that team is not the most solid defensively at the moment.
Then on to second Saturday aka Sunday… the girls play at 4:30am for me, the boys in the NLD at 6am and Lyon play PSG at 7am for the other return leg.
Oh my.
We’re so lucky as fans of this sport, it’s worth mentioning and remembering.
Looking forward to Shebahn’s coverage on DAZN, and I encourage you all to check out the pre-match coverage. She’s one of the best in the game for sure.
Have a great weekend!
d ❤
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You can listen to my music HEREAlessia Russo, Amanda Ilestedt, arsenal, arsenal blog, Arsenal Football Club, arsenal podcast, arsenal women, arsenal women blog, Arsenal Women FC, arsenal women football club, Arsenal women podcast, AWFC, AWFC podcast, beth mead, blog about arsenal women, blogs about arsenal women, Cloe Lacasse, Emily Fox, FIFA WWC, Frida Manuum, Katie mccabe, Kim little, Laia Codina, Leah williamson, lia walti, manu zinsberger, Steph catley, Stina Blackstenius, that arsenal women podcast, UWCL, Vivianne Miedema, women’s football podcast, woso, Woso podcast, WSL podcast -
It’s already too much
The season isn’t even over yet and I don’t think I can handle all the transfer possibilities, rumors and done deals. The thought of keeping up with that every single day, specially during a long summer, might be the end of me and this blog haha. I promise I will do what I can to stay consistent and switch it up a bit here and there.
Crazily enough, most of these things aren’t about current Arsenal players, though there’s definitely going to be some seismic shifts for our squad, but I’m talking more about the potential landscape of the WSL as a whole, who moves where and WHY.
I’m not good at keeping up with contract negotiations but every summer it feels like everybody’s contract is up and I even forget who we have signed to a long term contract but don’t worry, we’re gonna hear about it every day, and twitter is going to be an absolute chaotic space.
What I know is that there is absolutely nothing I can do as a fan except surrender to the fact that I don’t control anything and whatever happens I must focus on the players’ well being and happiness regardless of which club they play for.
But one of the things some people do is start rumors out of boredom. Which not only is it absolutely insane and irresponsible but in reality it says more about the person starting the rumor than the idea of the transfer or the lie of it’s foundation itself.
Speculation and all that can be very fun and exciting too, don’t get me wrong, and of course I’ll be chatting about some of those things and I will share soon who I’d love to see at Arsenal.
In other news, Viv has a great interview out which I’m sure you’ve seen. I just wish the interviewer would’ve talked less and not answer the questions while asking them, but this happens so much it’s comical.
My plan was to do a special episode of That Arsenal Women Podcast but I just cannot do it this week, I will have to postpone it for next week. In case you haven’t checked it out yet I did one on Leah Williamson which you can listen to HERE.
d ❤
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ageism is a big problem
I know for a fact that I’m not alone in seeing a big issue with how quickly fans want to have the new shiny object. Twitter, sadly, is filled with people with an very misguided and not genuine opinion as it relates to moving older players on, and not even in their mid thirties… we’re talking about people wanting Viv gone, they’re happy to have seen Jen go, Jordan, etc etc etc.
I have seen this grow a lot, and I say this because I have paid attention to it. The first red flag was when some people were happy when we sold DvD to Lyon. They literally said that we needed to move her on because she was getting older and slower. How did that work out?
A player like Jordan Nobbs is another example. There was this collective thing of people almost feeling sorry for her and people thought it was just time to move her on. Excuse me? She’s still better than a few of our midfielders and if anyone deserved more time at the club it was her.
Another person that people were so vocally critical about regarding age and speed, because let’s face it: people hide being age by criticizing speed and pace, was Jen Beattie. Jen is a legend and still has legs on her and moreover she is as smart as they come. The problem is making her having to babysit players and then people blame HER for mistakes that she shouldn’t even have been close to making.
People are talking about Lia and Kim like they are done. Same with Viv. And not only do I have a massive problem with that but it has become a viral thing for the people that tweet. This is masked by talking about newer players as if they are the new so and so and its not always subtle and they’re not correct, full stop.
We need experience. We need it NOW. Players with potential are great and so is investing in the future, but it has to be done in a smart way, otherwise we get to this weird no person’s land that we don’t know how to navigate and to me, can only be detrimental to the game as a whole, and certainly our club.
The main difference between the “old” players and the new generation, is that the older players played against boys and had to out smart them and be quicker mentally and also stronger. The new generation might not be the same and might have much more advantages than the other players. By no means am I saying they have it easy, that’s not what I’m saying at all.
There’s an ageism problem and there’s also a gratitude problem. Of course ageism sucks in any way, and having a gratitude problem is also a deep issue that people have to address in order to be happy.
d ❤
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Naursenal
Terrible title but it is fitting because I also think it’s a terrible idea that we’re sending the girls to Australia days after the season is over, where they will not only play but be full of press, etc and then some have to come back a day or two later to join their international teams.
I get the marketing, etc etc etc I still think it’s a terrible idea and this is precisely what we complain about.
Also I think it’s really unfair for the Australian fans because they’re put in an emotionally risky situation in that some might be all about the girls going over there but also some might think that they need a break and don’t want them there for the sake of their physical and emotional help. Do you know what I mean?
Like if they were to be coming to LA or the USA to play I would feel terrible and would also most likely be going to watch them, so where I stand, in my judgmental position, I think it’s all weird and tricky.
All I want is for the girls to be happy, so if this makes them happy, I’m all about it.
Anyway, here is my latest podcast:
d ❤
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We’ll have to wait
With only a handful of games left in the season, we still don’t have a clear picture of where we will be finishing. Not that there’s always an easy way to predict things but having to wait days upon days to see what other teams do aka Chelsea, is very annoying.
As you know, Chelsea are in the CL and have had to postpone at least 2 matches, if I’m correct. This means that the rest of the league basically plays and they will have some games in hand, which again it’s really annoying for us who need them to drop as many points as possible.
We obviously can and should only focus on us and what we do for the rest of the season, and that implies not just playing like this, but using the players we used, in the positions we used them, minus a couple here and there. I mentioned yesterday that I thought something clicked and I still feel that way.
I also wanted to take a second to give Beth her flowers. As twitter becomes more and more of a site from hell, with so much hate and negativity it’s predictable to have seen lots of criticism towards Beth, all of which is stupid. Let’s just get that straight.
Do people forget she’s coming back from a career threatening injury? The same people criticizing her are the ones sitting on a couch eating crisps and are too lazy to get up and grab their diet cokes so they yell at their parents to grab it for them or they just resign to being there, thirsty and judgmental.
Both goals were very hight football IQ goals. The timing, the runs, the awareness, the technique, the precision, the calmness. We are so lucky to have her in our team and whenever she plays I know we have a chance.
I understand the hype with Lauren James, and I wish Lauren Hemp was an Arsenal player, who btw I think if we buy we will win the WSL. All this to say that Meado is our version of them in their teams. And as I always say we need to appreciate what we have.
Hope you all have a great start to your week. I will be uploading a podcast tonight and expect a special episode later this week, if I can get my ducks in a row.
d ❤
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You can listen to my music HEREAlessia Russo, Amanda Ilestedt, arsenal, arsenal blog, Arsenal Football Club, arsenal podcast, arsenal women, arsenal women blog, Arsenal Women FC, arsenal women football club, Arsenal women podcast, AWFC, AWFC podcast, beth mead, blog about arsenal women, Cloe Lacasse, Emily Fox, FIFA WWC, Katie mccabe, Kim little, Leah williamson, lia walti, manu zinsberger, Steph catley, Stina Blackstenius, that arsenal women podcast, UWCL, Vivianne Miedema, women’s football podcast, woso, Woso podcast, WSL podcast -
Unreal display
Wow, wow, wow! That was in my opinion one of the best, if not the best display of the team this season. From start to finish it was incredible and if I were to give flowers to the players that deserve them, then I would run out of flowers and I would need a semi truck.
Manu was flawless. For someone who gets so criticized unfairly, it’s been so lovely to see how confident she has been and the performances she’s put in have been nothing short of outstanding. I would say that she has proven people wrong but people are um…. not always the smartest so no need for her to prove anything, specially to people that already have their minds made up.
When I saw the lineup and saw how Jonas set the defense I was so freaking happy. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY. The back four looked so incredibly solid, reliable, poised, strong. It all started with them…
Steph was imposing. Her energy was out of this world and it was great to see her back to her best.
Also there’s no wonder we look good defensively when Katie plays.
Emily Fox… my goodness. TAKE A BOW. Not a foot wrong.
And let’s talk about Leah Williamson. What a player FFS.
If you think that anyone but her is THE BEST center back in our squad, let alone top 5 in world football please lets have a conversation lol.
Kim was just Kim.
Beth, Alessia and Stina worked their tails off.
Would’ve liked to have seen Pelova get a break. Poor girl is gonna be played to the ground.
Super happy to see Frida and Viv get minutes in too.
I’m just happy for the girls. Something seemed to click today.
Imagine this plus Lia Walti and maybe Cloe starting… insane.
Can’t believe it took this long to mix it up.
Enjoy your Sunday!
d ❤
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hot take or just craving attention?
Social media has taught me a lot of things. Among those lessons, I have to say that self control and looking inward has been very important. Restraint, thinking things through and more, get easier with time but they are still difficult.
This post is basically a reminder to myself that I don’t have to tweet or reply every single opinion and even as the title might suggest an agenda or a subtweet of some kind, it really is targeted to me, and maybe some people can relate or learn from it.
I have a lot of opinions and there has to be a degree of arrogance because I express them on a daily basis via this blog and usually weekly via my podcast. When expressing those opinions I usually think a lot about them before I say them, and I feel that some people don’t do this. I’m not judging or saying my way is the right way, but due to my work and being an extension of the artist I play with and/or artists I’ve played with in the past, I might think things through more than some people on twitter.
I see it often… someone says something that feels like they are just trying to be controversial because there’s no way in hell my mind can actually believe they are serious and then I think they are just silly and cannot take them seriously.
People that say we don’t need Vivianne Miedema, Lia Walti, Kim Little, Beth Mead, Katie McCabe or Leah Williamson… are you ok? Do you know what football is? Respectfully, you are out of your goddamned minds.
All those players transcend the sport and if you don’t see that, I don’t really know what players/sports you have been watching. They are not normal, they are not replaceable, no matter how you justify it. They are NOT.
Let me say this again for the people in the back: THEY ARE NOT
d ❤
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A very subjective look into AWFC 